MERRY 46

Ethan coldly rejected all three options and brushed his hair back. The hot weather had caused his body temperature to rise along with it. The pleasant breeze leaking through the window felt like a tease. Setting his purpose aside, Ethan tentatively took a step forward to chase the cool air, when Somerset found a new topic to ask about.

“Alex. What’s today’s book? Are you still reading On Being Human?”

The reason Ethan didn’t feel a sense of rejection when his name was called so familiarly was because it wasn’t his real name. As someone who considered introducing himself to strangers a careless mistake, Ethan couldn’t understand Somerset. It felt like the man would rattle off not just his name, but his entire personal history.

Naive.

It was an unfitting description for a sensual man whose shirt buttons were undone just enough to exquisitely reveal his chest, but it was the truth. Ethan pushed aside thoughts that might have verged on sexual harassment and held out his paperback novel.

“The Reason Jamie Put on Roxanne’s Sneakers, by Alex Howard.”

Somerset read the title and the author’s name printed on the cover aloud and tilted his head.

“He has the same name as you. Are you a writer by profession? Is that a book you wrote?”

The kind of expression a child might wear upon discovering a fun toy naturally seeped onto his handsome face. He had long, deep eyes like those of a fierce beast, lips imbued with sensuality, and a strong jaw, yet he lost his gravitas easily because he wore his emotions so openly.

That said, he didn’t give off a flimsy, fluttering feeling. It was a strange sort of weight—as if he would float away if you blew on him, yet remained immovable when you actually tried to take hold.

He laughed freely but fully enjoyed the value of his own smile; he was naive but did not appear soft or easy. It was perhaps inevitable that such a harmonious irony would command attention.

“So you were a writer.”

In the brief moment Ethan fell into thought and kept his mouth shut, Somerset completely misunderstood. Instead of giving a long-winded explanation, Ethan flipped the book over to show the back. There was a list of books written by Alex Howard, including On Being Human.

Since none of them were famous, the familiar title naturally stood out. Sure enough, Somerset Quinn pointed to that one first.

“This is the book you were reading last time, right? You wrote it?”

“No.”

“Oh, so it’s just a writer with the same name.”

“No.”

“What do you mean? If it’s not a book you wrote, and it’s not a writer with the same name…”

“It means my name isn’t Alex Howard.”

Ethan could see those amber eyes trembling violently. The man was terrible at hiding his flustered state, yet his voice remained loud.

“Haha! I was just pretending to be fooled!”

If there were ever a competition for the world’s worst liar, he should definitely enter. He would surely beat out all the cliché candidates boasting honesty and proudly take a top spot.

Still, he seemed to have enough self-awareness to know his acting was pathetic, as his transition was swift.

“Actually, I was fooled. Completely. If I were the type of person who kept a diary, I would have written it in there. That I made a new friend, and the friend’s name is Alex Howard.”

As he made a motion of scribbling on his palm using his finger as a pen, he was full of playfulness. While Ethan found it difficult to take his eyes off him, he drew a line in a nonchalant tone.

“I don’t recall us becoming friends.”

In a situation that could have been embarrassing, Somerset actually grinned. He threw out a silly joke with lips curved into a soft arc.

“Oh, stop it. I’m not fooled. I know you’re lying. Your diary probably says you made a best friend.”

He was remarkably positive.

“Oh, and could you edit that to say a ‘best friend so handsome he comes to mind before going to sleep’? That would be the accurate introduction.”

Ethan thought once again: Somerset Quinn already possessed superpowers. The fact that he could brag and wink one eye without looking unsightly was difficult to explain with modern science.

Watching him wink again, Ethan felt a sense of relief that he didn’t have the habit of keeping a diary. At least he would avoid the disaster of being enchanted by the man’s charm and writing “best friend so handsome he comes to mind before going to sleep” in his journal.

However, he had a nagging premonition that he really would think of him before bed tonight. He just hoped those thoughts wouldn’t lead to a dream.

His eyebrow twitching involuntarily, Ethan placed his hand on his chest. Drawing on his experience of being baptized in a cathedral as a child, he made a small sign of the cross. Even though he didn’t believe in God.

“What are you doing? Sign language? Mime?”

At the foolish question, Ethan felt his lips loosen. He immediately reined it in and managed to maintain a blank expression.

“I wonder.”

“Or did your heart just flutter? For the record, mine just did. It’s probably because you’re standing in front of me.”

“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean…”

“It means exactly what you heard. Because you’re here, because I’m looking at you, my heart right here fluttered.”

Somerset tapped his chest repeatedly with his finger. He seemed utterly thrilled to be experiencing such a mysterious phenomenon. Ethan glanced at the bronze skin visible inside the shirt before brushing his hand over his eyes.

“It is only right to be suspicious of a cause and effect that doesn’t make sense.”

Ethan offered the kind advice, but instead of taking it to heart, Somerset flapped his collar to reveal his pectoral muscles even more.

“It’s perfectly natural for my eyes to be drawn to you or for this place to react.”

“Given that you’re talking nonsense, I suppose you have nothing left to say.”

“I do. The most important thing is left.”

Stretching his arm out the window, he clenched his hand against the air. Though not a single hair was physically touched, Ethan paused, feeling as if he had been caught. Capturing that reaction without missing a beat, Somerset crinkled his eyes and nose simultaneously. A mischievous smile lent weight to his proposal.

“What’s your name? If you tell me properly, I’ll buy a diary and start writing.”

A human being weak to visual stimulation was bound to cave. Somerset was vibrant and sparkling, as if he had filtered out the mugginess of the early summer air and kept only the high-purity sunlight. Gloss flowed through the curves of his curls, and his straight teeth and clear lip line were in perfect harmony. He was a human, yet as natural as a landscape untouched by human hands.

Watching him closely, Ethan suddenly blinked several times in succession. Like someone dealing with a foreign object in their eye. As if trying to remove something before it could become embedded in a deep place that couldn’t be reached even by rubbing the eye or washing it with water.

“I’ll pass on that.”

It would have been nice if the conversation had ended with that rejection. But into the eyes Ethan had just given first aid to, Somerset thrust his handsome face back in and spoke.

“Why? Is this a tactic to get my attention? Do you want me to ask you what your name is every single day?”

It was a truly brazen and preposterous assumption. Driven into a corner by the absurd suspicion, Ethan began to negotiate with his ego, which was still holding up walls. It should be fine to reveal just a name. We’re neighbors anyway, and we’re bound to run into each other. Besides, if I don’t give an answer, he looks like he has no intention of backing down.

“Ethan Reed.”

When he reluctantly gave his real name, Somerset repeated it immediately.

“Ethan Reed. This time it’s for real, right?”

Since he was the one who had provided the grounds for distrust by deceiving him once, Ethan nodded submissively.

“Yes.”

“I can only forgive a lie the first time. From the second time onward…”

Will I be punished?

“It’s disappointing.”

Ethan thought: his prediction was spot on. He felt that disappointing the man would be no different from a punishment. No comment on why. He didn’t know himself, so there was nothing to say.

If you were to ask if he was afraid of being punished, he would answer: Not really. Though he couldn’t guarantee he’d feel the same way forever.

“What a shame. If you’d told me in advance, I would have said Richard Kim or Sam Cooper.”

“Where did those names come from?”

Ethan held up the book. They were the names of the villain who harassed the protagonist and one of the nobodies who acted as his lackey. He’d just finished reading the part where the two were plotting something, so they came to mind.

“Lend that to me when you’re done.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re the type who can handle boredom well.”

“It’s fine. I’m not going to read it anyway. It’s an excuse to meet you.”

Somerset showed strong motivation to build a friendship. In contrast to his proactiveness, Ethan did not let his guard down. They were in a standoff, like a spear and a shield aiming and blocking one another.

“I have no intention of indulging a dishonest reading life.”

“You just need to have the intention of indulging me.”

“I don’t particularly have that intention either…”

“I will politely ignore any other opinions.”

“I don’t think you know what politeness is.”